Cautious start for Terol and Torres at Motorland Aragon
The Moto2 riders had a delayed start to their first session at Aragón, owing to an incident involving a Moto3 rider who left oil on the track. The intermediate category riders finally took to the asphalt in the rain, as they looked to find their base settings. Johann Zarco dominated the overall standings, but many riders grazed the top spots over the course of a tricky day on a wet track. Only Luthi was a title candidate near the head of the standings. Rain and crashes were common over the course of the two sessions.
After a series of crashes and run-offs at Motorland in Moto2, the prudent strategy used by the MAPFRE Aspar bore fruit for Jordi Torres and Nico Terol. Both riders took things steadily and at a decent pace, avoiding any unnecessary risks. There was work done on the geometry of both riders’ bikes in order to improve rear grip. The duo improved consistently over the course of the day and clocked their best laps at the end of the second stint. Jordi Torres concluded the day in sixteenth and Nico Terol in nineteenth.
Jordi Torres – (12th FP1/16th FP2) FL – 2.09.572 – (30 Laps): “Today we had a solid progression. We started to get to know the circuit this morning, then gradually we found our references and got more of a feel. Despite the result not being spectacular, I am satisfied with our performance. We took things calmly because we wanted to avoid a crash. The team worked very well and, although in the end I didn’t put in a very fast lap, we tried out all the changes made over the course of the day and they were all helpful. We played around with the geometry of the bike on the rear, to avoid sliding too much. Tomorrow we will continue working in the same way as today and will hope that our progress doesn’t stop.”
Nico Terol – (15th FP1/19th FP2) FL – 2.09.836 – (31 Laps): “I started well with a good feeling, but as the laps went on I stagnated a little. In the afternoon we worked a lot to get me faster in the first sector, because it was really lowering my times. We got some positive results from that. After what we saw today, I think that we can set everything up tomorrow to improve substantially. When it rains, circumstances change, so that is why I was prudent today. Tomorrow we will attack from the first session in order to be ready for the qualifying session and get into the top ten. The important thing is that we progressed continuously today and got a lot of information. Tomorrow we will try to improve our rear grip.”
Source: Aspar Team Press Release
